SYDNEY, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — The cannabidol non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana drugs may have positive effects for children with severe epilepsy where other medications for the major neurological disorder are not effective, according to the latest Australian research.

The latest successful trials of cannabidol that point to the potential of cannabis or marijuana for medical purposes is “good news for some desperate families of children with severe epilepsy”, Dr. John Anthony Lawson of Sydney Children’s Hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.

Lawson co-authored the latest findings reported in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology medical publication.

Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain characterized by seizures and more than 250,000 Australians have the condition, with children representing about 40 percent of the patients, according to the Epilepsy Action Australia charity organization.

The researchers analyzed the potential of the compound for helping patients with intractable epilepsy, in which seizures fail to come